Jones running to keep his seat on Sandoval County Commission

Joshua Jones remembers learning how to drive in front of his grandma’s house in Madisonville, Kentucky, in the 1990s.

Fast forward to 2023, and Jones has spent plenty of time behind the wheel as the commissioner representing the largest district in Sandoval County.

Jones was appointed as the District 5 Sandoval County Commissioner on Jan. 6, 2023, by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to fill vacancy created by the resignation of former Commissioner Kenneth Eichwald, who was elected in November 2022 as Sandoval County magistrate court judge.

“It is an honor and pleasure to be here today, and it is an honor and a pleasure to be appointed to this position,” Jones said in 2023. “My main mission here with this appointment is to serve and work for the people. I’m excited to be here among these great commissioners, and hopefully we can do some collaborative work together, and I think it’s time to get to work.”

In the past year, Jones has put in work throughout the district, which covers about 3,000 square miles in northwest Sandoval County, including the communities of Zia Pueblo, San Ysidro, San Luis, Torreon, Cuba, Regina, La Jara, Counselors, Ponderosa, Jemez Pueblo, Cañon, Jemez Springs, La Cueva, portions of Peña Blanca, portions of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo and Sile.

“It’s been a great learning experience,” Jones said. “Being a county commissioner has been great. I’ve been able to get out and be in the community. We’re really going to every part of the district, and we’re really trying to do good work for all of Sandoval County. Every community is its own community, right. So a lot of the challenges are the same, but they’re different.”

Now Jones is running to keep his seat and continue helping those communities.

Jones moved to New Mexico in 2009 and is a resident of Rio Rancho. After serving in the Air Force for more than a decade, he received his B.A with a concentration in entrepreneurship and is currently pursuing his MBA. Jones served in the Military Police and was previously a Wounded Warrior Fellow for former Congresswoman Deb Haaland in New Mexico’s first congressional district.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to be a county commissioner,” Jones said. “I’ve worked in federal space, I’ve worked for an elected leader. But it’s different being the person out in front.”

Being out front, Jones has worked with Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson and Deputy County Manager John Garcia to deal with the issues facing District 5, including water and road improvements.

Having worked closely with tribal leaders and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Jones is focused on collaboration and communication in addressing the unique challenges faced by indigenous communities. His efforts have not only focused on resolving tribal land trespass issues but also on expanding broadband access to rural areas, ensuring that all residents have equal opportunities for connectivity and economic growth.

“I want to continue to do the work that we’ve been doing,” Jones said. “When you go out to these rural communities, a lot of these folks have to go all the way to Rio Rancho to go shopping. They have to travel long distances, so working with the (Sandoval Economic Alliance) and the county leadership to bring economic development to those areas is important. When you’re talking about water and economic development, they have to go hand in hand. They have to run parallel to each other because if you don’t have water, you can’t have economic development.”

Jones credits his time working for Haaland, who is now the United States Secretary of the Interior, for instilling a joy of helping people.

“I enjoyed my time in her office so much, and I saw the work she was able to do for her constituents and for the community and the impact she had. That lit a spark in me to want to be in the political arena,” Jones said.

Jones ran for Rio Rancho City Council in 2022, losing in runoff to Bob Tyler by 147 votes.

After an interview process, Jones was appointed to the county commission in 2023. But he said being elected to the seat will be special to him and his family, which includes his wife Shavonne and their four children.

“Just having the confidence of the people you serve means a lot,” Jones said. “I think I may be the first African American male to win a county commission seat out here in Sandoval County. It would mean a lot to my constituents. And also my daughters, being an example for them, being somebody they can look up to and be proud of.”

Jones, a Democrat, is facing off with retired Rio Rancho Police Department officer Justin Garcia for the District 5 seat in the November election.

Jones' campaign goals include prioritizing community engagement and fundraising to support local initiatives. He emphasizes the need for strong partnerships with federal agencies and officials to bring much-needed resources and funding to the county.

“I’m not running because I want to be important; I feel like I wouldn’t be running for election if I didn’t want to be a servant of the people,” Jones said. “I really enjoy going out and seeing how I can make a difference, how I can make an impact on these folks. I love my district because it gives me the opportunity to do some work, think outside of the box, figure out how to bring money to this district and help them. I think I’m uniquely positioned because I do have connections that I can reach out to at the federal level to bring money into this district. I really just want to have the opportunity to see some of these projects that we’ve started through completion.”